Jun. 13, 2017, 8:22 a.m.

Amid reports that President Trump is considering firing the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigations, a senior Justice Department official said Tuesday that he - and not the president - is the only official empowered to dismiss the prosecutor and that he sees no reason to do so.

On Monday, Christopher Ruddy, a longtime Trump friend, said in an interview on PBS that he had just come from the White House and that the president was "considering, perhaps, terminating the special counsel."

Leading Republicans, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, have made it clear they see no reason to remove Mueller and would prefer he be allowed to finish the probe.

But suppose Trump ignores their advice. Does he actually have the legal power to fire the special counsel, who is leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and examining possible coordination by Trump's associates?

Jun. 13, 2017, 7:24 a.m.

North Korea on Tuesday released an American student imprisoned there and sentenced to hard labor, the State Department announced.

The University of Virginia student, Otto Warmbier, had been sentenced to 15 years hard labor after being convicted in Pyongyang for acts against the state.

Warmbier's announced release came as former basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea for the latest of his visits to the isolated country. As he traveled, he was asked whether he planned to advocate on behalf of four Americans detained in North Korea, and he said that that was not his "purpose."

Jun. 13, 2017, 6:16 a.m.

Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is scheduled to testify today before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

If you're planning to watch or just want to catch up on the story, we can help:

Meet the members of the committee. Sessions' former Senate colleagues are expected ask him about his meetings with Russian diplomats, as well as President Trump's firing of James B. Comey as FBI director and Comey's account of his interactions with the president.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin on Monday proposed sweeping changes to the tough Dodd-Frank regulations put in place after the 2008 financial crisis, including a major reduction in the power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other rollbacks long desired by Wall Street.

In a 149-page report ordered by President Trump, Mnuchin also recommended reducing oversight of large financial institutions, providing even more regulatory relief for smaller banks and loosening new mortgage restrictions designed to prevent a repeat of the subprime meltdown.

The report was the Trump administration’s first formal salvo in what’s expected to be a long and complex process involving Congress and federal agencies to try to scale back regulations that Republicans have complained are harming banks and stifling economic growth.

Jun. 12, 2017, 6:31 p.m.

A close friend of Donald Trump's said the president "is considering perhaps terminating" special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, fueling speculation that has been building in Washington that Trump could intensify the struggle over the Russia investigation.

"I think he's weighing that option," Christopher Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax, a conservative website, told PBS' "NewsHour" on Monday. "I think it's pretty clear by what one of his lawyers said on television recently."

"I personally think it would be a very significant mistake," Ruddy added.

It's the TV interview that set Washington abuzz Monday night, and it featured a familiar man, Newsmax Chief Executive and President Christopher Ruddy, talking about a familiar topic, President Trump.

"I think [Trump is] considering perhaps terminating the special counsel," said Ruddy during an appearance on PBS' "NewsHour."

He was referring to former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, who has been appointed by the Justice Department to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and any possible ties to the Trump administration.

Jun. 12, 2017, 5:45 p.m.

President Trump's first full Cabinet meeting was an exercise in group deference.

Trump kicked things off Monday by bragging about his "record-setting pace" in his first few months in office – a claim some might question, since he has signed no significant legislation even though his party controls the Senate and House.

After that, each person at the table began their progress report with roughly the same message: Thank you, Mr. President.

Jun. 12, 2017, 3:03 p.m.

Justice Neil M. Gorsuch used his first high court opinion Monday to write a concise, pointed essay on how the justices should decide cases — by following the “plain terms” of the law, not by updating an old statute to meet new problems.

“These are matters for Congress, not this court,” he wrote.

He spoke for all nine justices in limiting the reach of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 1977 to debt-collection businesses and not to companies that have purchased unpaid debts which they then try to collect for themselves.